COLUMBIA, S.C. – Two Benedict College men's cross country and track & field student-athletes –
Ryusei Takahashi and
Corey Witter - have been named to the 2022-23 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators.
Takahashi earns the award for the second year in a row. He graduated in May with a degree in business administration with a 3.74 GPA.
Takahashi finished eighth in the 5,000-meter, fifth in the 10,000-meter and sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2023 SIAC Outdoor Track &Field Championship to help Benedict to its second straight conference championship. He also finished 12th at the 2022 SIAC Cross Country Championship. At the 2021 SIAC Cross Country Championship, he helped the Tigers to the conference championship by finishing seventh. He also received the 2021 SIAC Elite 14 Award for men's cross country.
Witter finished eighth in the SIAC championship in the pole vault (2.6 meters), 12th in javelin (37.69 meters) and fourth in decathlon (4898 points). He also finished third in the SIAC championship in decathlon in 2022 (5008 points).
Witter graduated in May with a degree in business administration with a 3.91 GPA, and will attend helicopter pilot training with the U.S. Army.
The 2022-23 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in athletic competition and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes track & field/cross country honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 28 (women) and June 29 (men).
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.
